[Pault]

If we are talking about top tier teams, which we originally were, the question isn't so much "is defense effective?" as it is "is defense more effective than offense, given their vast capabilities?" I believe that the answer is no. I question how effective an amazing defense bot can really be. Blocking is pretty much out of the question, because you can just send a robot to push any goalie out of the way. Anyways, the "safe zones" that you may have heard about elsewhere on CD are immune to goalies. And what else is there? You can have an awesome, powerful drivetrain, but most top tier teams have one already. And top tier teams already have great drivers. They could also put up a 5ft wall for blocking, but that is trivial for these powerhouses. I can't imagine any other way that you could be more effective at defense. So they have the choice to either call themselves a defensive bot and be finished halfway through week 2, or add on offensive mechanisms and be able to be both (like they have always done). Is that really even a decision?